A Novel Waste Water Treatment Plant for the Disposal of Organic Waste from Mobile Toilets
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A Novel Waste Water Treatment Plant for The Disposal of Organic Waste from Mobile Toilets A Novel Waste Water Treatment Plant for The Disposal of Organic Waste from Mobile Toilets G. BONIFAZI, R. GASBARRONE, R. PALMIERI, G. CAPOBIANCO, S. SERRANTI Departments of Medical Sciences and Biotechnologies and of Chemical Eng. Materials, Environment- Sapienza University of Rome, Abstract The EU wastewater management industry is continuously looking for innovative technological solutions that can enter the market with a reduced environmental impact. This paper focuses on the problems associated to the disposal of human waste and on the specific market of the so-called mobile toilets. These are independent portable units equipped with sanitary tools that use chemical agents to disinfect the vessel and not connected to the sewer network. With growing awareness towards effective sanitation, mobile toilets have gained immense popularity in recent years and are now widely used at construction sites, event venues, public places, and in several other application like temporary refugee housing, migrants’ camps, military missions, cases of natural disasters, airplanes, trains, campers, caravans and campsites. This paper illustrates a new process for the disposal of organic waste from mobile toilets. Keywords: Waste Water Treatment Plants, Chemical Portable Toilets, Use of sludges in agriculture. 1. Introduction into surface and ground water and to avoid toxic effects on soil, plants, animals and humans. In The use of sludge in agriculture within the EU is most cases, national authorities have currently regulated only by the limits of heavy implemented policies supporting the use of metals (Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) listed in sludge in agriculture, as it is considered to be the Council Directive 86/278/EEC. This document best economic and environmental option to deal is now more than 30 years old and most of the with the increasing quantities of sludge EU countries have introduced more stringent produced. In this context, national authorities requirements and have adopted limits for are seeking to increase confidence in the quality concentrations of other heavy metals, synthetic and safety of products cultivated on sludge organic compounds and microbial fertilised soils. In the context of uncertainties contamination. There is a need to update these concerning the potential impacts on human regulations taking into account the current risks health and the environment of the various associated with the application of sludge to disposal and recycling routes, all main agricultural land. In general, sludge is stakeholders are calling for additional characterized by considerable variability in demonstration activities in order to increase nutrient content depending on the wastewater confidence in the use of sludge in source and treatment process. Although agriculture. The development of agricultural nutrients are essential for plant growth, when recycling depends largely on the possibilities to applied excessively (especially nitrogen and improve the quality of the sludge itself and phosphorus) they may accumulate in soil and increase confidence in sludge quality. This can be leached and transported by drainage implies the prevention of pollution of the waste systems (particularly nitrogen) or can be water at source and improving sludge treatment transported by water erosion (phosphorus bound as well as ensuring the monitoring of sludge to soil particles) and pose a risk to surface water quality. This paper focuses on an innovative and ground water. It is then necessary to have process for the treatment of a particular category the correct safety measures facilitating the of organic residues deriving from the use of prevention of possible leakage of contaminants chemical toilets and from agri-food industry’s production process. 1 International Symposium on Technologies for Smart City – 11th-12th November 2019, Malaga, Spain A Novel Waste Water Treatment Plant for The Disposal of Organic Waste from Mobile Toilets 2. Innovative solutions for the market portable toilets to be provided, the locations and the cleaning and disposal intervals. Cleaning The EU wastewater management industry is with collection of waste is the activity that must continuously looking for innovative ensure the hygiene of mobile toilets in service: it technological solutions that can enter the market consists in emptying the waste collection tank, with a reduced environmental impact. This cleaning it, restoring sanitizing liquids and paper focuses on the problems associated to the consumables, and in the sanitation and disposal of human waste and on the specific disinfection of the toilet. Emptying the market of the so-called mobile toilets (See wastewater collection tank and its relative Figure 1). cleaning are carried out by loading or sucking the resulting waste into tanks mounted on specially equipped vehicles, for subsequent transport to an authorized Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) within the times and in the manner established by the regulations (Figure 2).. Figure 1: Portable chemical toilets. These are independent portable units equipped with sanitary tools that use chemical agents to disinfect the vessel, not connected to the sewer network and intended for the use of a single Figure 2: Traditional disposal of sludge from person and temporarily placed in places where a mobile toilets. number of people have to use them in the absence or insufficiency of fixed sanitation The mobile toilets are in general managed or facilities. With growing awareness towards owned by the same company who carries out the effective sanitation, mobile toilets have gained maintenance cleaning, who makes a specific immense popularity in recent years and are now service available to the applicant (public or widely used at construction sites, event venues, private) dealing with efficiency and hygiene. public places, and in several other application From the maintenance cleaning of a portable like temporary refugee housing, migrants’ toilet, modest quantities of waste result (tens of camps, military missions, cases of natural kilos or litres). The waste deriving from the disasters, airplanes, trains, campers, caravans cleaning of the toilets have the same and campsites. These toilets are also called characteristics as those deriving from the “chemical toilets” because the relative waste cleaning of septic tanks: in all there are collection tanks are usually treated with anti- chemicals, residues of cosmetics, disinfectant fermentation and disintegrating chemical agents detergents, various types of sanitizers in addition with caustic and disinfectant action, which are to waste from human metabolism. This is why, then part of the waste deriving from as such, sludge from chemical toilets cannot be maintenance cleaning and emptying of the tanks normally reused for other purposes and they are themselves. There has been increasing scrutiny commonly sent to WWTP with significant costs over the polluting chemicals currently used in and environmental consequences. The toilets mobile toilets because they are carcinogenic and must be periodically emptied with disposal harmful to the environment and to human health. intervals that depend on the specific application. UNI EN 16194 is the standard specifying the On average, each chemical toilet is completely requirements for services related to the emptied of its content once a week, and every installation of the toilets and those relevant to time a toilet is emptied, about 25 litres of waste chemicals and sanitary products, taking into are collected to be transported to the WWTP. account factors such as hygiene, health and Every time the toilet is emptied it must be safety, cleaning measures, the number of cleaned and sanitized and its tank must be 2 International Symposium on Technologies for Smart City – 11th-12th November 2019, Malaga, Spain A Novel Waste Water Treatment Plant for The Disposal of Organic Waste from Mobile Toilets refilled with clean water along with chemicals. may accumulate in soil and can be leached and On average, the tank is filled with 10 litres of transported by drainage systems or can be water and 1 litre of chemicals. Considering that transported by water erosion and pose a risk to nowadays in Europe there are about 2 million surface water and ground water. It is then chemical toilets in circulation, it can be necessary to have the correct safety measures estimated that every week 2 million litres of facilitating the prevention of possible leakage of chemicals are used to fill the cleaned tanks. contaminants into surface and ground water and When the toiles are emptied, this weekly huge to avoid toxic effects on soil, plants, animals and amount of chemicals will converge in the humans. Since 1986, land application of sewage WWTPs together with the organic materials sludge within the EU has been governed by collected. The environmental problem addressed Council Directive No. 86/278/EEC. It prescribes is characterized by the current need to dispose prior testing of sludge and soil, application of the wastewater in the treatment plant and by the sewage sludge exceeding critical concentrations consequent environmental impact due to the of pollutants to agricultural soil is prohibited, presence of reactive and polluting chemical and soils exceeding permissible concentrations substances. Wastewater in fact, even after cannot receive sewage sludge. This Directive treatment, can end up in areas deemed sensitive has been implemented